letter to Melinda Pavey asking for response on reopening of Bowraville Road

Hi Melinda

I have just received a letter from you. I thought it might be a response to our problems with the closure of the Bellingen Road, but it was just another expensive glossy brochure.

Attached is a photograph taken from our house of the trees killed by the recent bush fire,so we have a constant reminder of what might have happened, if the east coast low rain  and the efforts of local fire brigades and forestry had not stopped it.

Surely you have to make some comment on the issue of the Bellingen Road. 

A number of residents have been collecting information over the past seven years about the restoration of access through the Bellingen Road.

I thought it would be useful to remind you of these.

The damage to Bellingen Road occurred in 2009.

I have previously documented Andrew Stoner's pledge to restore the road. (He also wrote a letter published in the Bellingen Courier Sun on 1 May 2013 which trumpeted funds for rural areas from lease sale of ports - see attached )

The RMS was allocated the task of processing this promise.

A report was commissioned from consultants GHD, which was then referred by the RMS to a Value Management Workshop involving all stake holders.

The outcome, brilliantly argued by Mayor Rhonda Hobden, determined that the preferred option was  "Restoration of both Northern and Southern Zones of damage of the road", with 360 points allocated compared with the option of closing the Southern Zone with 100 points. The main reason was "ability to respond to life threatening situations". 

This recommendation has been constantly ignored by the RMS.

Ryder Level Bucknell costed the options in their report dated  21 December 2010.

The relevant costing is for closure of the southern section. It appears that a road cannot just be left to rot away , it has to be restored to a natural situation before closure. The costing was $1.43 million dollars plus $350,000 for design and profit to the contractor. So whatever happens $1.78 million has be spent on the Bellingen Road.

A compromise option has been proposed by all the relevant local authorities, Nambucca Shire Council, RFS, National Parks and local RMS, which is to construct a fire trail to the specification for a Category 1 Fire Tanker (13 tonnes) at a cost of $1.5 million, which would allow an escape route for residents living on the Bellingen Road, and allow the RFS to "respond to life threatening  situations".

This option appears to be blocked somewhere with the inference that the money will have to come from RMS budgets.

This may not be as harsh as it sounds, if you understand where funds are allocated for Natural Disaster.

In June 2014, the NSW State Government made a submission to the Productivity Commission report into Natural Disaster Funding.

In an appendix they described how funding is organised. Relevant to the Bellingen Road was the information

"Apart from the central provision held in the DRA and managed by Treasury, there are some other minor budgeted provisions for recovery activity funded separately. 

Currently these consist of: $20 million internal provision set aside by RMS from its maintenance budget........" 

So the RMS have the funds and need political pressure to resolve the reopening of the Bellingen Road.

I look forward to some reply from you.

regards

David Wallin

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